Early years

College career

At the University of Tennessee, Haynesworth was a three-year letterman and lined up at right defensive tackle next to John Henderson. He compiled 66 tackles, five sacks, 31 quarterback pressures, 20 tackles for a loss and nine pass deflections during his career. He earned Sporting News Freshman All-American honors in 1999 and was named Second Team All-Southeastern Conference after his junior season.

Professional career

2002 NFL Draft

Considered "potentially a brutal run-stopper" by The New York Times,[3] Haynesworth went 15th overall in the 2002 NFL Draft, picked by the Tennessee Titans. He was the fourth defensive tackle selected from a draft class considered to be loaded with talented defensive linemen.[4] At Tennessee's Pro Day in 2002, when he was just 20, Haynesworth measured at 6-foot-6, 317 pounds, ran a 4.82 40-yard dash, had a 39-inch vertical jump and an 8-foot, 7-inch broad jump.[5] He did not workout at the 2002 NFL Combine.[6]

Tennessee Titans

Haynesworth was elected to the Pro Bowl for the first time for the 2007 NFL season. During this season following the stomping incident, he ranked second on the team with six sacks in his 11 games played up to the selection, led or tied for the team-high in total tackles three times that season, and led or tied the team-high in quarterback pressures five times. At the point where the Pro Bowl selection was made, the Titans were 8–3 in games in which Haynesworth started and 0–3 in games in which he did not play.

Haynesworth said of his Pro Bowl selection, "It’s an awesome feeling. It’s kind of a load off my back because I didn’t want last year’s suspension to define my career. It was a difficult time in my life, but I was determined to keep working hard to get to this point and earn the respect of my teammates, coaches and fans." Haynesworth failed to sign with Tenneesse due to the deadline of signing a franchise tagged player.[7]

An incident occurred at a Titans training camp in 2003, where Haynesworth kicked his former teammate, centerJustin Hartwig, in the chest, and had to be restrained by other teammates.[8]

In spite of these negative marks on his record, Haynesworth remains a figure in any discussion on the league's best defensive players. His contract expired following the 2008 season.

Haynesworth tried to stomp on Gurode's head, but missed. A second stomp opened a severe wound on Gurode's forehead, narrowly missing his right eye. Haynesworth then drew a 15-yard penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct. In the midst of his protest, he took off his helmet and threw it to the ground, which led to another 15-yard penalty and Haynesworth's ejection from the game.[9] Gurode later received 30 stitches just above and below his right eye. After the game, Titans coach Jeff Fisher apologized on behalf of the Titans organization to Cowboys coach Bill Parcells.

Haynesworth apologized after the game, saying words could not describe how he felt. He was quoted as saying "What I did out there was disgusting."

According to DallasCowboys.com columnist Mickey Spagnola[10], Haynesworth reached down and pulled off Gurode's helmet; in video evidence of the play, Haynesworth does indeed bend down towards Gurode prior to his helmet being off and prior to the stomps, although because the view is partially blocked by other players it cannot be seen whether he manually removes the helmet. However, most media outlets reported simply that Gurode's helmet was off.

On October 2, 2006, Haynesworth was suspended for five games without pay by the NFL. The suspension is the longest in modern NFL history for an on-the-field incident, more than twice as long as the previous longest suspension, given in 1986 by Commissioner Pete Rozelle to Green Bay nose tackle Charles Martin.[11] Based on his 2006 base salary of $646,251, Haynesworth forfeited more than $190,000.[11] NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, who had only been on the job a month, stated that there was "absolutely no place in the game, or anywhere else" for Haynesworth's behavior. However, ESPN′s Mark Schlereth, a 12-year NFL veteran, felt that Haynesworth should have been suspended for the rest of the season. ESPN′s Merril Hoge harshly criticized the officials for not ejecting Haynesworth immediately after the stomp.[12]

Gurode later said that he would not seek criminal charges against Haynesworth. He continued to experience headaches and blurred vision as of October 2006.[13]

The NFL Players Association initially planned to appeal the suspension, calling it too severe. However, Haynesworth said on October 3 that he would not appeal, after personally apologizing to Gurode in the same day. In a press conference on October 5, Haynesworth apologized to all who watched the game and said he had entered counseling to control his emotions. He also said that he would work with children in the Nashville area.

Haynesworth was eligible to return on November 19 for the Titans' game against the Philadelphia Eagles. Even then, there was no guarantee that he would play. Fisher told Parcells after the game that the Titans would punish Haynesworth themselves if they felt the NFL's punishment wasn't harsh enough. On the same day as Haynesworth's press conference, Fisher told a national radio show that the Cowboys game may have been Haynesworth's last as a Titan. The team had the option of either deactivating him for the final seven games of the season or releasing him.[14] Had the Titans released him, they had enough room under the salary cap to absorb the $5.5 million they would owe him for 2007.[15]

Haynesworth's agent, Chad Speck, told several media outlets that Haynesworth fully expected to return to practice on November 13, and he did indeed report that day. He played against the Eagles on November 19, and recorded one tackle.

On September 9, 2007, in the Week 1 game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Haynesworth was called for unnecessary roughness when he slammed running back Maurice Jones-Drew to the ground after a tackle.[16] He was fined $5,000 by the NFL for this incident. Afterwards, when asked if he would be gentler during play, he commented, "I'm not going to be any gentler or whatever. Maybe I'll just help them up."

Washington Redskins

An unrestricted free agent in the 2009 offseason, Haynesworth signed a seven-year, $100 million contract with the Washington Redskins on the first day of free agency, February 27, 2009.[17] The deal is expected to pay Haynesworth $32 million in the first 13 months,[1] includes $41 million guaranteed and could reach $115 million if all incentives are met.[17] Tennessee’s final offer to Haynesworth reportedly amounted to a four-year package worth $34 million total, with about $20 million in guarantees.[18] Haynesworth reported on SIRIUS Blitz that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers offered him a $120 million deal that could potentially increase by 20%. He says that he took a discount to play with the Redskins because of their large fan base and media outlet, something that he also did not have in Tennessee.[19]

In April 2009, the Titans asked the NFL to consider tampering charges against the Redskins, claiming that the Redskins contacted Haynesworth before the free agency period began on February 27.[20]

Twice as a member of the Redskins, Haynesworth has been penalized with personal fouls while coming to the aid of a teammate.[21] In a Sports Illustrated poll Haynesworth was voted by his fellow NFL players as the most dominant defender in the game.[22]

After a 45-12 loss to the New York Giants in week 15 of the 2009 season, Haynesworth questioned the scheme of defensive coordinator Greg Blache, and stated that he could not "survive another season in this system if it stays the way it is."[23]

Personal

Arrest warrants were issued against Haynesworth in two Tennessee counties in May 2006 stemming from a traffic incident on Interstate 40. Both sets of charges were dropped in June 2006. The judge in the Putnam County case tossed the charges on the grounds that the alleged offense happened out of their jurisdiction. In Smith County, the district attorney dismissed the charges. In March 2009, Haynesworth was indicted on two misdemeanor traffic charges stemming from a December 2008 car accident in Tennessee.[24]